By Barbara A. Christianson

On January 13, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it is notifying pesticide registrants that EPA will send supplemental invoices to reflect the new annual pesticide registration maintenance fee for fiscal year (FY) 2023. To meet new statutory requirements in the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2022 (PRIA 5), which was signed into law on December 29, 2022, the revised fee for FY 2023 for each registered pesticide product will be $4,875, increased from the $3,400 level specified in the EPA invoices provided in early December 2022.

According to EPA, PRIA 5 directs EPA to collect, to the extent practicable, an average amount of $42 million in pesticide registration maintenance fees annually for FYs 2023-2027. The previous collection target for FY 2023 under the Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act of 2018 (PRIA 4) was $31 million. Additionally, EPA notes that maximum payment caps and small business caps are increased in PRIA 5 and will be reflected in the forthcoming reinvoicing.

EPA states that all registrants with FIFRA Section 3 and Section 24(c) pesticide product registrations will receive an e-mail to notify them of this change. Registrants will need to access their product filing forms, pay any outstanding portion of the revised maintenance fees, and return completed documents to EPA. EPA instructs that if a company has already made payment to EPA in response to the earlier invoicing, the company will need to pay the difference between that initial payment and the amount owed under the supplemental invoicing. As PRIA 5 was enacted following EPA’s initial invoicing and shortly before the statutory payment deadline of January 17, 2023, EPA states it understands that registrants may encounter difficulties with timely payment of appropriate FY 2023 maintenance fees but encourages registrants to submit the required fee and form to EPA as soon as possible after the supplemental invoicing. EPA also encourages registrants to reach out to it with any .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.’s (B&C^®) April 20, 2022, webinar “FIFRA Hot Topics” is now available for on-demand viewing at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/7426709986449689102. During this one-hour webinar, Lisa M. Campbell, Partner, B&C, moderated a lively and informative discussion between Edward Messina, Director, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP), and James V. Aidala, Senior Government Affairs Consultant, B&C, as they discussed key OPP developments and priorities.
 
With year one of the Biden Administration’s term in the history books, EPA OPP is focusing on long-standing challenges, especially EPA-wide efforts to implement Environmental Justice (EJ) work and determining how best to meet core pesticide registration review obligations in 2022. During this webinar, Messina spoke about the recently released Endangered Species Act (ESA) Workplan, chlorpyrifos and dicamba developments, pesticide product performance data requirements, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) issues, as Aidala followed up with questions informed by his many years of experience in senior positions at EPA.
 
We encourage you to view the webinar, subscribe to B&C’s informative FIFRAblog™ and pesticide newsletter, and access more pesticide development news directly from OPP on its website.

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Wednesday, April 20, 2022
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. (EDT)

Register Today

Register now to join Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C^®) for “FIFRA Hot Topics,” a complimentary webinar covering key Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) priorities and what companies should know to avoid market delays.

Speakers include:

• Lisa M. Campbell, Partner, B&C, moderator
• Edward Messina, Director, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) OPP
• James V. Aidala, Senior Government Affairs Consultant, B&C

Program: 

With year one of the Biden Administration’s term in the history books, we have a clearer sense of how EPA is proceeding on all fronts. EPA OPP is focusing on long-standing challenges, especially a renewed effort to meet Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultation requirements and determining how best to meet core pesticide registration review obligations in 2022. These program priorities must reflect special considerations for environmental justice and climate change, advance critical science and policy issues, develop a fifth Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA) implementation framework, and display a renewed commitment to working collaboratively with state partners and other stakeholders to implement the program.

Topics Covered:

• OPP and Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Issues and Priorities
• Climate Change and Environmental Justice
• Trade and Import Issues
• Recent Developments in EPA Efforts to Better Coordinate FIFRA Efforts and ESA Requirements
• Reauthorization of PRIA
• Additional Review of Chlorpyrifos and Dicamba
• Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Pesticide Containers

Register Now

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Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C^®) is pleased to provide our Forecast 2022 to FIFRA Blog readers, offering our best informed judgment as to the trends and key developments we expect to see in the new year. For the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP), 2021 was a full year of working from home while addressing ongoing priorities; continuing the march toward meeting the 2022 deadline for registration review of pesticides registered before 2006; attempting to comply with the requirements of the Endangered Species Act (ESA); and meeting Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA) deadlines for registration applications. OPP is expected to focus on long-standing challenges, especially a renewed effort to meet ESA consultation requirements and to meet core pesticide registration review obligations. More details on this, and expected regulatory changes of all varieties, are available in our Forecast for U.S. Federal and International Chemical Regulatory Policy 2022.

WEBINAR
“What to Expect in Chemicals in 2022”
January 26, 2022, 12:00 p.m. EST
Register Now

B&C will be presenting a complimentary webinar, “What to Expect in Chemicals in 2022,” focusing on themes outlined in the forecast. Join Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner; Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry; and James V. Aidala, Senior Government Affairs Consultant, for this informative and forward-looking webinar.

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By Lisa M. Campbell, Heather F. Collins, M.S. and Barbara A. Christianson

On May 12, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced additional procedures for registrants to add new disinfectant products to EPA’s List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2 that are considered to be safe and effective for use against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

EPA states that it intends to expedite reviews of certain Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act (PRIA 4) submissions for products intended for use against the SARS-CoV-2.  These actions include requests to amend currently registered products that require a review of efficacy data and applications for new pesticide product registrations that would qualify for List N for use against SARS-CoV-2.  This process does not replace the review process of all other submitted antimicrobial products.

EPA states that it also may consider expedited review of new active ingredients (AI) or new uses for currently registered AIs (including higher application rates, new application methods such as fogging and electrostatic sprayers, or use sites such as porous surfaces).

The following submissions may qualify for expedited review:

Amendments for Currently Registered Products

• A request to add a virucidal claim to a product that requires EPA to review efficacy data (including both newly submitted data and citations to existing data);
• A request to add a new unregistered source of a non-commodity active ingredient (active ingredient not listed in the May 11, 2020, Temporary Amendment to PR Notice 98-10) to a product’s Confidential Statement of Formula; and
• A request that involves changes to a product’s formulation that requires EPA to review confirmatory efficacy data. Confirmatory efficacy data are a reduced set of data used to support certain changes in formulation to a registered product.

New Products – formulated with currently registered AIs that are contained in disinfectant and/or sanitizer pesticide products approved for use in residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial settings.

• A submission of an application for a new pesticide product that requires EPA to review newly submitted efficacy data to support virucidal claims where the product is formulated with a registered source of active ingredient(s); and
• A submission of an application for a new pesticide product that requires EPA to review newly submitted efficacy data to support virucidal claims where the product is formulated with an unregistered source of the active ingredient(s).

Additional information on EPA’s requirements and process for submissions to be considered for expedited review is available here. 

EPA also announced the availability of its new List N Tool: COVID -19 Disinfectants, a new web-based application (app) that allows smart phone users and others to access List N to identify disinfectant products that meet EPA’s criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. 

For several months, EPA has provided the public with List N, which currently lists 410 surface disinfectant products that meet EPA’s criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2.  EPA is now making available the data from the List N webpage on a browser-based web app that allows users to identify the disinfectant products best suited for their needs.  Users can search by use site (e.g., home, business, health care, etc.), surface type (e.g., hard, non-porous surfaces like countertops; porous surfaces like fabrics), contact time (i.e., the time the product needs to be visibly wet), EPA registration number, AI(s), or product name.

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By Heather F. Collins, M.S. and Barbara A. Christianson

On October 1, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Federal Register notice announcing the that fees under the Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act of 2018 (PRIA 4) were increased by five percent for pesticide applications received on or after October 1, 2019.  The five percent increase is on fee amounts established by Public Law 116-8, which became effective on March 8, 2019.  The revised fees will remain in effect until September 30, 2021.

The fee schedule provided in PRIA 4 identifies the registration service fees and decision times organized according to the organizational units of the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) within EPA.  EPA presents the schedules as 19 tables, organized by OPP Division and by type of application or pesticide subject to the fee, and lists the registration service fee for actions received in fiscal years 2020 and 2021.  Applicants must submit fee payments at the time of application.  EPA will reject any application that does not contain evidence that the PRIA 4 fee has been paid.

The revised fee schedule for PRIA 4 fiscal years 2020 and 2021 is available on EPA’s website.  More information on the PRIA 4 legislation is available on our blog under key word PRIA.

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By James V. Aidala

On March 8, 2019, President Trump signed S. 483, the “Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act of 2018,” which reauthorizes the Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act (PRIA 4) through fiscal year 2023, updates the fee collection provisions and authorities available under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and addresses worker protection matters.  The text is available at Congress.gov, which has not yet been updated to confirm that the bill has been signed (but this appears to be the final amended text of the bill).

On February 14, 2019, the Senate approved S. 483 to reauthorize the Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act (PRIA 4) and the House of Representatives approved it on February 25, 2019.  Further amendments were made and the Senate approved the amended text on February 28, 2019.  More information on the PRIA 4 legislation is available on our blog under key word PRIA.  

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By James V. Aidala

On February 14, 2019, the Senate approved S. 483 to reauthorize the Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act (PRIA 4).  The Senate bill did not have the specific categories and timelines of earlier reauthorization language, referring instead to more general legislative language that the Senate approved during the Farm Bill authorization in 2018.  Legislation in this new session of Congress was necessary since PRIA was not reauthorized as part of the appropriations language approved by Congress to end the government shutdown.  More information on the Senate bill is available in our blog item “PRIA Not Extended in Appropriations Bill; PRIA 4 Bill Passed by Senate.”

When, on February 25, 2019, the House of Representatives also approved S. 483, the legislation included the specific timelines and PRIA categories which appeared in the original PRIA 4 proposal.  This meant that either the different language in the legislation would need a House-Senate conference, or, the Senate could simply vote again and approve the House version of S. 483.  That is the course of action taken by the Senate, which then approved the amended text (the House approved language) of S. 483 on February 28, 2019.

The legislation now awaits signature by the President, and then PRIA 4 will become law.  It extends PRIA through fiscal year (FY) 2023.  The legislation raises the industry registration fees and refines some of the categories of actions from PRIA 3 (specific legislative text is available here).

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By Sheryl Lindros Dolan and James V. Aidala

The Appropriations Bill that is expected to be signed into law on February 15, 2019, provides funding for the rest of Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 and averts another federal government shutdown.  It does not, however, include either an extension of the Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act (PRIA 3) or Reauthorization, widely referred to as PRIA 4.  This omission was a surprise to industry and to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  On February 13, 2019, the Senate introduced a stand-alone PRIA 4 bill (S. 483).  Acting swiftly, the Senate passed the bill on February 14, 2019, by unanimous consent.  S. 483 directly references H.R. 1029, the Pesticide Registration Enhancement Act of 2017, from the last Congress, with amendments passed by the Senate on June 28, 2018.  

S. 483 has moved to the House, where the timing of a vote currently is unclear.  The House will go into a week-long recess after today.  It is possible that the bill will not further progress until the House reconvenes on February 25, 2019. 

The effect on EPA and the regulated community during this transition is also unclear.  Currently, EPA is sorting out applications and PRIA deadlines along with workload planning in the aftermath of the recently concluded federal government shutdown.  The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) provides for a reduction in applicable fees if PRIA is not reauthorized, but it is unclear if applications submitted during the transition will be assigned a PRIA review date.  If PRIA 4 is passed, we expect that the fee provisions will be retroactive and that EPA will send invoices to applicants for submissions made during the transition period for the difference between what was paid and the new PRIA 4 fee. 

More information on these topics is available in our blog items "Federal Budget Deal Negotiations Fail to Advance PRIA Reauthorization" and "Continuing Resolution to Re-open the Government Includes PRIA Extension."

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By James V. Aidala, Sheryl Lindros Dolan, and Susan M. Kirsch

As reported in the trade press on February 14, 2019, following budget negotiations late on Wednesday, February 13, several legislative riders did not make it into the conference report for the final fiscal year (FY) 2019 omnibus spending package.  This purportedly includes an extension of the Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act (PRIA 3) or the long-awaited Reauthorization known as “PRIA 4.”  This may be the result of political pressure to avoid another government shutdown with a “clean bill” package capable of garnering the necessary votes.  The Senate and House are expected to vote on the omnibus package today, February 14, 2019, ahead of the expiration of the current budget resolution on February 15.  While much is still in flux, the final omnibus package, once passed, will provide a clearer picture on any PRIA implications.  At this time it appears that, contrary to past budget resolutions, PRIA 3 will not be extended.  More information on the recent PRIA extensions is available in our blog items Continuing Resolution to Re-open the Government Includes PRIA Extension and Registrants Face PRIA and Shutdown Issues.

In the event of a lapse, the “phase-down” provisions in the statute will mean that new submissions require a reduced fee schedule, but submissions will no longer have an associated PRIA deadline for a decision on the application.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will likely “clarify” in the coming days and weeks what this means for any expectation for an application submitted during this time.  During the recent shutdown, EPA stated that applications submitted during that temporary lapse only required the reduced fee.  At that time, however, since no deadline was required for such an application, EPA advised that applicants should expect guidance as to when to expect a decision (that is, in effect, do not bother to submit things during the shutdown period since PRIA actions with an associated deadline will have priority for the foreseeable future).  When the federal government reopened on January 28, however, EPA processed all applications received during the shutdown as PRIA actions submitted on January 28.

Now with PRIA likely not in effect after February 15, 2019, even with an approved EPA budget for FY2019, EPA will have to evaluate what to communicate to applicants about what to expect during the time of the PRIA 3 phase-down.  Any plans for this period may be affected by provisions in PRIA 4.  On February 13, 2019, the Senate introduced standalone PRIA 4 legislation (S. 483) with bipartisan support which could facilitate relatively quick Senate action on a PRIA 4 proposal.  The House would also need to take action to renew the program.

Because no PRIA action was taken in the budget agreement, important questions now swirl about the program, including:  

• What happens to any new submissions?  
• Will there be impacts on pending deadlines?  
• What exactly will happen to any submissions made during the current “no PRIA” period?  
• What might be the longer term impact of this (in)action on general pesticide program operations (e.g., staffing, contracts, schedules for non-PRIA actions)?

EPA will be addressing these and many other important questions over the next few days. 

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